*On tap

You know those urinal troughs on the floor at the base of bars in old-time taprooms?

Well, zip it up guys. Despite the common myth, the fact is those troughs are not, were not and never were intended to be used as urinals. In fact, the troughs are spittoons, a handy place to puh-tooey a wad of slobbery tobacco juice.

Common sense alone should tell you they weren’t designed for barstool urination. Never mind the whole socially unacceptable aspect of whipping out ...

And not just any beer will do. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the landmark sci-fi TV adventure, Star Trek has its own series of brews produced by a small group of fans based in, of all places, Vulcan, Alberta.

In recent months, the group — which calls itself the Federation of Beer — has worked with several breweries to produce sudsy tributes to Star Trek characters. Among their portfolio: ...

It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship, one that grew over the next two decades and would come to define the spirit of one of the city’s most successful bars. Beyond the foamy pints and mixed drinks, the laughter and the music, the friendship flourished and endured as a testament to the goodwill of men brought together in ...

The Chestnut Street cafe and restaurant operates its own second-floor roaster, its co-owner is a medal-winning bean man, and the entire place has been modeled on the stylish grand cafes of the owners’ homeland in the Abruzzi region of Italy. On most mornings, the place is a popular destination for Italian expatriates sipping cups of espresso and speaking with an accent you don’t often hear on the streets of Center City, yo.

A populist upheaval swept aside decades of control by elitist power brokers who reaped the rewards of government while the people had borne the cost. But last week, the carnage stopped right here and it stopped right now.

That’s right: Pennsylvanians can now buy a sixpack at a beer distributor.

Amid all the commotion in Washington, D.C., and on the streets of so many American cities, the antiquated beer laws of the Keystone State were changed ...

Philly Beer Week, which marks its 10th-annual celebration this June, announced this week that it’s evolving into a year-round organization called Philly Loves Beer.

The new organization is “devoted to raising Philadelphia’s global profile as a destination city for beer tourism… independent of a brewer’s guild or business association,” and will be the nation’s first nonprofit business league “dedicated to beer appreciation,” according to a recent press announcement.

And by the rest of us, I mean beer drinkers – adults who enjoy grown-up beverages. Beverages, by the way, that are taxed way more than the city’s newly imposed penny-and-a-half surcharge that Mountain Dew addicts are griping about.

A quick primer:

If you drink one 16-ounce Coca-Cola – or Gatorade, Monster, Starbucks Double Shot or…the list of sweetened crap is endless – per day, it’ll cost you an additional $87.60 a year ...

Imported German beer is often a dicey proposition because so many of the nation’s traditional styles – especially pils and Helles lager – are quick to deteriorate before they hit American shelves.

However, Liquid Projects, a new Brooklyn-based company, is giving it a try – and the first batch it brought to Philly is mighty impressive. The company has put together a collection of styles from five ...

Man should not live on one beer alone, and in 2016 I found many other exciting, new brews worthy of attention. These are the runners-up for Joe Sixpack’s Beer of the Year.

Slack Tide Bell Buoy: This sweet, zesty, spicy Belgian blond ale is worth the ride down Rt. 9 to the small Cape May County brewery. It also won deserved praise in Inquirer food writer Craig Laban’s annual Brewvitational awards.